News and reports

On Tuesday 7th December, we held our 2021 Annual Meeting.
We brought together over 60 members, volunteers, staff, local colleagues, community partners, and members of the public to showcase our work and plan our priorities for the coming year.

We have published a new report, ‘Accessing Healthcare Digitally’. The report sets out the findings from our recent community engagement on the accessibility of digital healthcare tools. It also contains a comprehensive set of recommendations for service providers, designed to ensure that digital healthcare tools become as accessible and user-friendly as possible.

Over the past two years, collaborating with local groups has become an essential part of our work through our Small Grants Programme. It enables us to connect with people from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds and minority groups.

Alongside this year’s Annual report, we have created an A5 booklet that shares the impact of our work, with a focus on tackling health inequalities and improving local services.

Online GP consultations have become more common since the COVID-19 pandemic, when many GP practices were physically closed to patients. Some online systems have now been expanded, with patients able to see their GP online for anything from a routine consultation to non-urgent medical advice, or support with a long-term condition.

We’ve been hearing from a number of care home residents in Westminster and RBKC about the difficulties they have when trying to access dental care. This got us thinking about how dental care is managed in care homes.

The vaccine is now being offered to all 12 to 15-year-olds and the NHS will be delivering the vaccination through schools. Schools are contacted with students of this age to arrange a date to vaccinate their students.

Our work is focused on giving local people a voice in health and care; however, we also like to share when our work gets mentioned internationally…

Do you or a loved one need help with social care? Read the article below and find out answers to key questions about who can access adult social care and how to pay for it.

Healthwatch Central West London will collaborate with the North West London Schools Research Network to pilot a new student engagement project in schools across North West London.

Imagine a project that not only facilitates conversation and idea-sharing between Healthwatch branches across the country, it also plays an important part in removing barriers that may prevent engagement work with minority ethnic groups and other minority groups…

In our first ‘in-person’ event after lockdown restrictions eased, we brought together people who receive home care, relatives, unpaid carers, and workers from Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea Councils for a workshop on improving local home care services.